Sookie and the Beast
by c3lia
Summary: Disney's fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" meets "Southern Vampire Mysteries" : An Eric and Sookie story!
1. Beauty and the Beast

**I've recently written my first story, and I LOVED to read all reviews and feedback. Thus, I'm already plotting my next "real" story with the "real" Southern Vampire Novels' characters. But, in the meantime, I decided to have a little fun, and adapt the "Beauty and the Beast" (Disney's version) to the Bon Temps world. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this silly story/crossover and have fun reading it.**

**And here's the disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, or main plot, as you all know. I'm just messing around with them and I sure hope that no one will sue me :) Charhamblin was kind enough to beta this for me and I love her for that. **

**Hugs from Portugal. Célia**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Once upon a time, in Shreveport, Louisiana, a bar-owner in his early twenties lived in a nice off-the-road house, where no one could get in with their shoes on. Although he had everything his heart desired, the guy was spoiled, selfish and unkind. He was arrogant and proud almost to a fault; though he only saw it as confidence. Actually, because he was extremely attractive (he was very handsome, in fact, the guy was radiant; blond and blue-eyed, tall and broad shouldered), he treated all women like they didn't matter, just dazzling them before having sex with them, and then sending them away, as if they were disposable. And because his bar was successful, he was rich and he never wondered how there were other people not as fortunate as he was. Besides, since he had a very close friend, Pam, the co-owner of his bar, he hadn't realized that she was his friend only because _she _had a very sweet and tender-hearted nature, and that no one else would put up with him. Furthermore, he was a guy who was always manipulative to suit his needs, and who was not above using deceit, especially when he wanted any blond women to be his. Yes, even though he had everything his heart desired, the guy was flawed, egotistic and heartless.

But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to him, when he was parking his new, gut-wrenching-grip red corvette behind his bar, and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Because she was carrying a broom with her, he immediately thought that she looked like an old, ugly and wicked witch. And so, repulsed by her haggard appearance, the guy sneered at the rose gift and turned the old woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty was found _within_. The guy looked at the elderly beggar woman, and he only saw her long salt and pepper hair, and her old and soiled clothes. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress, who said her name was Marnie "Hallow" Stonebrook.

The guy, who had never before believed that such things were true, was appalled by the situation. But he could not deny that he had, in fact, seen such a transformation before his eyes. And so, he immediately tried to apologize. But it was too late, for Marnie had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as a punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the bar, and all who were working there at the time.

"You're a heartless man," Marnie had told him, "and so, until I know that you've changed, I'll make your heart stop beating at all."

And that was how Eric, Pam and five more employees found themselves turned into blood-lusty monsters, with keener senses, and a higher strength, but who could only live at night, because the sun light would kill them, and whose basic instincts repelled even themselves.

However, despite their bloodlust, Pam and the other five employees (Clancy, Dahlia, Maxwell Lee, Indira and Long Shadow) were still able to be among the regular humans, and work in the bar at night, because even though the sun would burn them, they still looked like normal people. But not the guy. His skin had become extremely white, and actually so pale that he looked almost like a corpse, which associated with his new extremely cold body-temperature, scared everyone. Besides, the long fangs that the guy now would almost always have in his mouth would forever give away his new vampirism nature.

Ashamed of his monstrous' news looks and feeling guilty for the fact that because of him, those people were now monsters with a thirst for blood as well, the guy concealed himself in his office inside his bar, or in his house, without talking to anyone other than those six also-changed people, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.

The rose Marnie had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his thirty-first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time; but knowing forever that he had caused such calamity to six other people, including his only friend.

And that was why Pam and the five employees had to forget all about their families and friends, and started spending all their time between the bar and the guy's house, because they had to spend the days there as well, shielding from the sun. And every night, one of them would be allowed to drink a mouthful of blood from a human, who they soon discovered could be glamoured into forgetting that he or she had actually given his or her blood. And it pained them what they were doing, but they always dismissed it because, deep down, they knew it was only their master's fault that they had to do it and not their own responsibility. And then, every week, on the seventh night, it would be the guy's turn, and _he _would drink the blood of an unknowingly human. But he would taste the blood, knowing that during that week, seven innocent people had been obliged to give blood even without knowing it. And week after week, the burden of it all would pain the guy even more.

And as the years passed, he kept hiding into his office or his house, and seeing no one other then Pam, her co-workers, and his glamoured humans. And so, he fell into despair, and as the weeks turned into months and then years, he lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?

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><p><strong>I hope you've enjoyed it. And believe me, next chapter is almost done! ;)<strong>

**"Beauty and the Beast" won ****an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1992. It is a ballad about the love developing between Belle and the Beast and it was written by composer Alan Menken and late lyricist Howard Ashman. **


	2. A Whole New World

**The prologue was written in a third person perspective. But I find that I'm much more comfortable writing in a first person POV. I hope you won't mind that I'm changing it, and that you'll enjoy reading this. Thank you for taking the time to do it, and please review if you can. Oh, and this chapter was beta_ed_ by the lovely Charhamblin. Hugs from Portugal, Célia**

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><p><strong>Sookie Stackhouse<strong>

I wanted my "happy ever after".

And I had been waiting for someone to dazzle me since I was a young girl, when I was first told "The Little Glass Slipper" story. And I absolutely loved how the word Cinderella had, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes had been unrecognized but who had unexpectedly achieved recognition and happiness, after a period of obscurity and neglect.

Because, you know, I had always liked to think that I was a Cinderella myself.

First of all, my parents had died when I was a child. And even though I was lucky enough to have been raised by my loving Grandmother Adele (who I missed terribly, since she had passed away the previous year) and not some spiteful Stepmother, the truth was that I had always felt different from other kids at school because I was an orphan. And despite the fact that I didn't have any vain Stepsisters, my brother and I were never very close, especially when we were both in school because he was ashamed of me (people at school even used to call me "Crazy Sookie", and, I guess, they continued doing it even after school). Like I said, I was always different from other kids there and I had never had any real friends. But the upside of that (deep down, I was always a positive person, despite my misfortunes), was that after taking care of the house and working at a local bar, I had lots of free time to read and to dance (by myself, obviously), which I absolutely loved.

And, like I was saying, you could tell I didn't get out much. And it was not because I wasn't pretty. I was. I was blond and blue-eyed and twenty-five, and my legs were strong and my bosom substantial, and I had a waspy waistline. Besides, I knew that I looked good in the warm-weather waitress outfit my boss Sam Merlotte had picked for us: black shorts, white T, white socks, black Nikes. The problem was that all men in Bon Temps, the small-town in Louisiana where I lived, were not my "cup of tea". Like I said before, I had always liked to think that I was a Cinderella myself, and I guess that I was still waiting for my Prince Charming, who'd be nothing like the rest of Bon Temps men.

But even though I had never felt that I really belonged in Bon Temps, people were nice (except when they called me "Crazy Sookie" behind my back, obviously), in a small-town-niceness kind of way. I mean, for example, if there was a death in a family, everyone would go there, bringing food and offering to help this way or that way; but at the same time, they'd be noticing if the house was clean enough for receiving guests, or if the coffin was an expensive or cheap one, and other things like that. Yes, they were all good people, and everyone looked out for each other, but on the other hand, because everyone knew each other, everyone also knew what happened in everyone else's life and _boy!,_ were they judgmental. And so, because I had been refusing dates with the town's bachelors since I was 18 years old, and instead I would rather stay at home or at the library reading, I continued to be "Crazy Sookie".

And Bon Temps was probably the only little, quiet town in the whole country where a young woman's passion for reading was frowned upon. But the truth is, that it was. And the worst thing about it was not that I was called "Crazy Sookie" behind my back. In fact, what bothered me the most about Bon Temps was that it was a _too _little, and _too _quiet provincial town, where every day was like the one before, full of little people. And I don't mean short in height, but rather in their mentalities and ways of life.

Anyway, I was right in the middle of my break at Merlotte's, the bar where I worked, when William "Bill" Compton entered the place. His family had lived in Bon Temps since before the Civil War. Actually, they had been there when Bon Temps was just a hole in the road at the edge of the frontier.

Because it was only a little before 4 pm in the afternoon and the bar was almost empty, I had been enjoying my break and minding my own business, reading a book in a corner booth, when Bill sat in front of me. Uninvited, of course.

"Well, well, well Sookie. I can see that you were sitting here, just by yourself, waiting for me…" he said, before he added, smiling and completely full of himself, "Now, tell me: how did you know that I would be coming to Merlotte's now?"

Bill was a little under six feet, he had thick brown hair, combed straight back and brushing his collar, and his long sideburns had always seemed curiously old-fashioned to me. He had lips that were lovely and sharply sculpted, and arched dark brows. His nose swooped down right out of that arch, like a prince's in a Byzantine mosaic. And he had very, very dark eyes, which made the whites incredibly white. And, all in all, I'd say that Bill was a very attractive man. And I knew that all the single girls in town would be glad (ecstatic really) if he was to sit with them.

But, like I said before, I was never like my peers, and the fact that he had thought that _somehow_ I was hoping and waiting for him, bothered me to my core. Nevertheless, I had been well-raised by my Gran. And if there is something that a "Southern Lady" must be all the time, it is polite. And so, quite unwillingly, I acknowledge Bill.

"Hello Bill," I said, taking my eyes from my book to look at him and trying my best to smile at him. However, my smile disappeared when he took my book from me, and turned it around, so he'd take a look at it. And that was when I immediately asked, "Bill, may I have my book, please?"

"Why do you read this Sookie? No one's making you read, you're not at school anymore, and this isn't a magazine with pictures of famous people…" he said. And you know what? I think that he was actually curious about my reasons for liking to read books.

I sighed and then I said, "Well, some people use their imaginations."

"Sookie, it's about time you got your head out of those books," he started to say with an arrogant attitude, as if he were my father, or some authority figure in my life, who I should listen to, and obey. As if I was _his_, or something. And then he added, "And you should pay attention to more important things… like me! You're about to be 26 years old, and… well, the whole town's talking about it. It's not right for a woman to be alone and care for herself. And everyone knows that your brother just likes to drink and party with different, loose Shreveport women all the time. And despite the fact that it's his duty to provide for you, everyone knows that he doesn't. And that's why you must marry as soon as possible, so you'll have a man to take care of you."

And he said that whole speech with a serious face, as if he truly believed in his words. But I, on the other hand, could only silently laugh at him, while I answered, "Bill, you think like someone from the Civil War era. You are positively primeval."

And even though I had meant it as an insult, he actually thanked me; right before he asked me if I wanted to walk over to his place, so he could show me his new bathroom. _His bathroom?_ Why would I? Anyway, I took my book back from him, I got up and then I said, "I'm working now, and my break's already gone. So, maybe some other time."

And as soon as I was out of the booth, Selah Pumpfrey, a local girl, sat in my previous place and started giggling because of something that Bill had said. And Dawn, another waitress immediately ran to his table, asking Bill if he wanted anything from the bar, and apologizing because I hadn't offered to bring him his customary whiskey. And that was when I heard another "Crazy Sookie" comment whispered at another table.

I took a deep breath, I decided that I wouldn't care about it, and I went back to work, wondering if I would ever meet my Prince Charming.

-x-

**Eric Northman**

I had once heard that no matter what you have, or who you are, you need people all around you because humans truly are social animals. And now I completely believed in it because I had been isolated for almost ten years with only Pam as my companion; though I never stopped feeling sorry for what had become of her because of me.

With Clancy, Dahlia, Maxwell Lee, Indira and Long Shadow, on the other hand, I had barely talked to since that fateful night, unless I would be ordering them around. And yes, humans _really_ are social animals, and that isolation wasn't doing me any good. But the thing was: I was no longer a human. I was a vampire, an animal who only wanted to satiate its thirst._ Of blood._

And so, I had spend the last decade, since I was 21, in my house, or in the office or the huge basement below my bar, getting completely bored with my life, cursing the night when I met Marnie Stonebrook, and missing the sunlight and the smells of the day time. And even though I could hear the humans and my staff working each night in my bar, I always stayed away from them because they'd immediately recognize my inhuman nature. And each night, each month and each year that passed, I got even more bored, more isolated, and more hopeless that I would ever be a human again.

Thus, on a boring, lonely night, like any other of the thousands of nights that had passed since I had become a monster, something new happened and Pam entered my office almost breathless. "I… we have a problem Eric," she said.

"What?"

"A guy went downstairs when Clancy was feeding tonight. He's drunk and he had already tried to pick a fight with another guy upstairs. And I should have put him out of here already, but I don't know why, I didn't. And then he went downstairs and he saw everything," she said. But I was left with the feeling that it wasn't just that. Yes, a human going downstairs and watching Clancy feed was problematic, and none of the vermin should go there. Let alone watch one of us drinking blood from another human. But it was an easy-to-fix problem: we just had to glamour the person into forgetting everything.

"How did a human have access to our basement?" I asked. The basement was huge, and it had a sort of living room (where they spend their free time, with a pool table, a television, stereo and other things, and where I never went), three bedrooms, with our coffins, where we sometimes spent our days, when we didn't want to spend it at the house (one for Pam, Thalia and Indira, another for Clancy, Maxwell and Long Shadow, and other for me), a couple of bathrooms and another room that they all used when they were feeding or whenever anyone of them needed to be alone (because I had my own bedroom, I refrained from using that room as well). And it was very guarded. There were three doors, always closed, two alarms and it was absolutely prohibited that a non-glamoured human would go there.

"I don't know," Pam answered me, before she added, "Clancy was probably reckless and he might have left the doors unlocked or something… I just know that the guy was downstairs and he saw Clancy biting and drinking from a girl, who was barely twenty one…"

"Call Clancy here to my office, and glamour the guy into forgetting everything that he saw," I answered with my fangs down. Clancy should know better than to leave our day resting place free for a human to go there.

"Yes. But the thing is, the guy… he… he smelled very good, and because tomorrow is my feeding night, I decided that I'd drink from him tonight, and then I wouldn't taste anyone tomorrow. And so I drank from him. But he… well, he…" she started saying but then she stopped. Pam was nervous about something, as if she had done something wrong. Maybe she had killed the human? Well, it wouldn't be the first person to die while feeding us or in a moment of rage. Especially in the beginning we would sometimes kill, without meaning it, our dinner. But Pam and the others' thirst had been manageable in the last few years. A couple of mouthfuls of blood, once a week, were more than enough for them, and they would be alright until their next time to feed, a week later. But I, on the other hand, had a much harder time controlling myself. Recently, I had been the only one of us who had killed a human during feeding. And so, I was almost sure that Pam hadn't killed anyone. She was actually the one with the best self-control of us all. And even if she _had_ killed someone… Well, like I said, it wouldn't be the first time, and we already knew how to get rid of bodies without any problems.

"He what?" I asked when I realized that Pam wouldn't continue talking.

"Well, like I said, I drank from him, because he had already been getting into trouble upstairs, before I glamoured him. But he…" she then stopped talking, yet another time. Pam was never one who didn't know what to say. Actually, if there was one thing that Pam had always been, it was blunt. I was left wondering what the hell had happened to have Pam that way.

"He what?" I asked again.

"Well, I decided that he'd deserved to be fed upon and I drunk from him…" she repeated. Yes, Pam was nervous with something and I was worrying what it was.

"Did you kill him?"

"No," she answered immediately with an almost repulsive air about the whole thing. Pam and the others still felt bad about what they had become, and they tried to keep their human nature as much as possible. I, on the other hand, had already quit it, and I had embraced my monstrous nature. I was what I was, and I had already accepted that no one would ever love me and that I'd be that way forever.

"So what?"

"He can't be glamoured."

Ah. What? Everyone could be glamoured. We had never met anyone who couldn't be glamoured. We had been feeding from one person a night for the last nine years, and no one, absolutely _no one_ had ever been immune to our glamour.

"Maybe you're doing it wrong," I said, but without much belief in my own sentence. Pam had been glamouring humans to forget that they had been bitten and drunk from for as long as the rest of us. She _knew_ how to glamour.

"I asked the rest of them to try it as well. None of us were able to glamour this guy. And he's…"

"What?"

"He saw our fangs, he remembers everything that he saw when Clancy was feeding and later glamouring his dinner; and he also remembers everything of when I drunk from him. And it scared his drunkenness away. He's… he's freaking out about what happened." Well, of course, someone would be freaking out about it. They always did. But luckily, glamour always resolved everything. What the hell would we do if glamour suddenly stopped working? How would we feed? There were already rumors about "the elusive" bar-owner who never showed up. And people actually thought that I was a Satan worshipper. The gossipers even used the word "beast" referring to me. If they only knew how right they were… But, back to the problem at hand: how would we feed if our glamour stopped working? Would we have to kill everyone, to keep our existence a secret? But then we'd have to keep moving from place to place because of all the murders… Fuck.

And so, I asked Pam where the guy was, and then the both of us went to the basement. Everyone but Clancy was there. As soon as I got there, I saw a good-looking young man who smelled strongly of alcohol and who had obviously drank more than he should have that night. However, his eyes told me that he had been scared enough that the booze was no longer influencing him. The dark-blond man was tied up and there was a cloth preventing him from talking. Or, if his scared eyes were any indication of his feelings, from _screaming_.

I told the other guys to go upstairs, and tend to the bar, which was almost at its closing time, and I stayed there with only Pam and the human. Besides, they were supposed to call Clancy (the only one of us who wasn't there) to my presence.

"Did he come here alone?" I asked Pam. It would be hard to explain his absence if he had been at the bar with friends.

"Yes. And he drove here, so no taxi driver knows that he came to this place. And I've already parked his pick-up truck in our garage, away from curious eyes," Pam answered.

"What's his name?" I asked.

Pam moved to me, with a wallet in her hands, which she gave to me, and said, "Jason Stackhouse. He lives in a small town an hour away, Bon Temps. He has been here before, and he was also drunk then."

I opened the wallet and I saw a couple of receipts from a liquor store inside, with an AA's card that listed the time and place of AA meetings in that part of Louisiana. So the guy really was a drunkard. Maybe it was the excess of alcohol in his body that had prevented Pam from glamouring him?

I moved close to him, and I noticed that his fang marks hadn't been closed yet. Pam had probably discovered the guy's inability to be glamoured before she had had the time to deal with the neck wounds. And as soon as I smelled the blood that was drying there, my fangs immediately came out, right in front of the guy. I focused on his eyes and I proceeded to try to glamour him myself. But I could only succeed in scaring the guy even more; he stood un-glamourable.

Right at that moment, Clancy arrived downstairs and I asked him how the hell the human had been able to go to the basement. And the fucker tried to lie to me and say that some of the others had probably been there when he was feeding and left the door open. And that pissed me off incredibly. Clancy was _clearly _the most irresponsible of us all, and he had already left the doors unlocked several times before. But there he was, lying to me instead of assuming his mistakes.

I grabbed him by his neck and I threw him up and over. Clancy's back hit a wall and I was instantly next to him. And I kept punching his face and his stomach until I grabbed him again, and _again_ I threw him into the air, towards another wall. The witch's curse had given us very quick recoveries whenever we were hurt – what before that fateful night would take several weeks to recover from, now only took us a few days to get better from (unless we were to meet the sun, which burnt us like fire – hence the reason why we all usually slept in the bar's basement, it was even safer than my house; though we sometimes stayed there as well). And so, I knew that Clancy would be better in one or two days. But at that moment, if you were to look at him, you'd only see a guy with a broken nose and some broken teeth, coughing his own blood and with his back completely shattered.

And so the human man, seeing that, was even more scared then before.

With my fangs still out because of the fight's bloodlust, I ran to him and I said, "I'll take that cloth from your mouth so we can talk, but if you scream or make any sound other than quietly talk to me, I'll kill you in a second. Do you understand me?"

And after the guy's nod, I looked at Pam, and she immediately went to him, and freed his mouth.

"Who are you? What were you doing here, downstairs?" I almost screamed at him.

The guy looked very scared and was trying to back away from me. But he was already with his back towards a wall, and there was no place where he could run or hide from me. And then he said, "I was lost… I was drunk and I was trying to find the bathroom and…"

The guy was staring at me, and my fangs, and it bothered me. I knew that he thought that I was a monster. And hell, I _was_ a monster. But I hated that people always looked at me that way. Whenever I was about to feed from a human, that person would always glare at my fangs and see a monster in me. And I fucking hated it. And so, advancing towards him, with my fangs still out, I told him that he was not welcome there.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, still looking at me. Pam was right there beside me, and she too had her fangs out, despite the fact that she wasn't drinking. But the guy only looked at me.

"What are you staring at?" I said.

"Noth… Noth… Nothing," he said trying to get up and moving away from me.

But then, in just a second, I raced to his side, and I blocked his moves with a speed that no doubt surprised him. "So, you've come to stare at the beast, have you?" I asked.

No matter how hard we had trying to hide our natures, and especially mine (because my physic was much more monstrous than Pam's or the rest of them), we had never managed to avoid the gossip that the bar's owner was a hermit, a tyrant and a mad person. And, quite fittingly (even without knowing how right they were), like I said before, most of the gossiping included the word "beast" when they talked about me.

And that was when I decided, that we'd try to glamour the guy on the next night. But if he kept unglamoured, then we'd drink from him, and kill him.

No one could know about us.

No one could know about _me_.

"Please, I meant no harm. I just needed to go to the bathroom, and I was trying to maybe find a couch where I could rest for a few minutes, and…"

"I'll give you a place to rest!" I screamed.

And then I picked him up, and I carried him out of there, and down another floor, where we had a sort of a jail. At the beginning, whenever the thirst was too hard, and someone felt that he or she wouldn't be able to be among humans without drinking from them, the others would jail him or her, until the thirst was controlled. And there was where I dropped the guy before slamming the door, plunging the den and letting him totally alone and in darkness. Not even a single light was there.

Not in that room. Nor in my heart.

-x-

**Sookie Stackhouse**

Saturdays had always been the busiest day at Merlotte's. But that day, there was even more people there than normal, and most of them had almost a nervous air about them. As if they knew that something was going to happen there. And so, it was turning out to be a hard day to work. Besides the increase of patrons there, I was always being called from table to table, because both Arlene and Dawn had been in a bad mood the whole day – it was, again, as if they knew that something was going to happen; except that they weren't nervous or excited about it, but sad.

But anyway, I was, like I said, working, when Bill Compton entered the bar.

He had a pompous air (as usual), and he immediately told young Hoyt Fortenberry to get out of "his" table, which he immediately did as if Bill was the owner of Merlotte's or the Mayor of the town, or even the King of Louisiana, or something. Yes, the Comptons were one of the founding families of Bon Temps, and they were rich and powerful as they could be, considering our town's size. And yes, William Compton was somewhat tall, and strong and broad-shouldered, and yes, he was very good-looking as well. But he was spoiled, selfish and he always talked and looked at everyone else as if he was better than all the others. And the worst part was that he _actually_ believed that he was better than everyone else, with a huge snobbish and arrogant belief in himself. And no matter how deep his dark-brown eyes looked, I knew that he was as shallow as a little pond that only lasted for half an hour after a light rain.

After I took a deep breath to calm myself down, so I wouldn't scream at Bill for his attitude towards Hoyt, I went to his table.

"Hello Sookie," he said smiling at me.

"Bill, here again. Two days in a row, now."

"Yes. And what do you think of it?"

"Well, it's a… surprise," I managed to answer while thinking over and over again that he was a customer (a good one), and that I _had to_ be polite to him.

"Isn't it though? I'm just full of surprises. You know, Sookie, there's not a girl in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes," he said still smiling at me. And, despite his arrogance, I was forced to think that Bill had indeed a beautiful, though manly, smile. And then he added, "This is the day…" but then he immediately stopped talking because he had somehow been distracted by the napkins' holder reflex… _of himself_. And so he paused what he was saying to take a look at his own reflex, and licked his teeth clean, in a completely self-absorbed way, before he continued, "This is the day your dreams come true."

I wanted to laugh at his words. "What do you know about my dreams, Bill?" I asked him.

"Plenty. Here, picture this," he said while plopping down in the chair and propping his mud-covered boots on another chair, before he added, "My huge house cleaned and smelling fresh, my latest kill roasting on the stove, and my little wife, massaging my feet, while the little ones play with the dogs." And _yuck_, poor wife. Having to clean after Bill, and massage his feet. I'd rather stay alone with only my books as a company than marrying that pompous ass. I wondered why he was saying that to me. Was Bill about to get married? I sure hoped so, and then, maybe he'd stop annoying me, and just leave me alone. No matter how attractive and rich Bill was, he'd always be a pretentious guy who thought that everyone's job was to caterer to his needs, and I'd sure be happy if he was to marry someone and, hopefully, move away. "We'll have six or seven," he then said, taking my mind out of my thoughts.

And what was he talking about? Six or seven what? "Dogs?"

"No, Sookie! Strapping boys, like me!" he said with the same smile.

"Imagine that," I answered him. And then I could only think again about the poor girl who'd marry Bill, and how desperate she'd have to be, to be willing to clean after Bill and six or seven of his kids. _Oh my…!_

"And do you know who that wife will be?" he asked, almost as if he was listening to my thoughts.

"Let me think..." I knew that Selah would love to be Bill's wife. As well as Portia Belleflour, Lorena, and even Dawn or Arlene. Perhaps it would be that new girl who had moved to the blue house…

"You, Sookie!" he said, once again, interrupting my thought.

Ahh… What? Me? He had to be kidding, right? I would never, _ever_, marry William Compton. Hell, I would never even date him, or kiss him, unless he'd made me take some drug that would give him some sort of power over me.

"Bill… I am…" And then I stopped because I didn't know what to add after those "I am" words. And what was I? Well, I was mortified that everyone there at Merlotte's was looking at us, and mad at him for even thinking that I'd want to marry him. But, of course, I didn't tell him that. And instead, I just answered, "I am speechless. I really don't know what to say."

And that was when Bill got up, grabbed my arms and pushed me, before trapping me against a wall that was right there. "Say you'll marry me."

And that was when I realized that he hadn't even _asked_ me to marry him, he hadn't given me a ring nor dropped onto his knees. No. Instead, he had basically assumed that I'd be so happy with that conversation, that he had thought that the outcome as a sure-thing. A definite "yes". However, I'd never agree to marry him.

And then and there, in front of everyone at Merlotte's, I just said, "I'm very sorry Bill, but I just don't deserve you." And then I ducked under his arm and I left Merlotte's through the employees' door after telling Sam Merlotte, my boss, that I was done for the day. There was no way in hell that I'd stay there, working, after that scene. Sam only nodded at me and then I almost ran to my car after I picked up my purse from Sam's office.

I immediately started the car, and then I drove home, and I could only think about what had happened. I had never imagined that it could have happened. But it _had _happened. He had asked me to marry him…! Me, the wife of that boorish, brainless… Mrs. Compton. No way. Mrs. Compton, his little wife. Not me, no sir, I was sure of it. I _really _wanted much more that that provincial life, and marrying Bill Compton would be the same as putting a nail in my coffin. I'd never leave then, and I sure wanted adventure in the great wide world somewhere, and I sure wanted someone who'd understand me, and love me just like I was. Not someone who'd try to change me into a dutiful, obedient, little housewife. I wanted a Prince Charming who'd take me away and love me for what I was.

Anyway, as soon as I got home, I heard my phone ringing and I immediately ran to it. It was Catfish Hennessey, my brother Jason's boss, saying that he hadn't been to work that day. And apparently, he hadn't come home the previous night from a Shreveport's bar, Fangtasia (he had even talked to Jason's neighbors, earlier that evening). I immediately told Catfish that I would go there myself.

Well, like I have explained before, Jason and I were never close. When we were young, he was ashamed of my "Crazy Sookie" status. And in the last few years, I had been telling him nonstop that he had to stop drinking as much as he did; which was a conversation that he hated having. That whole "the first thing is to accept that you have a problem" was very right. The problem was that Jason still didn't believe that he was drinking too much, and he absolutely abhorred when I tried to tell him that. But despite that, I was always insisting, because Jason was already having kidney problems.

And I could only think about the possibility of Jason having had a kidney-episode, the whole drive to Fangtasia.

Shreveport was just an hour from Bon Temps, but I hardly ever went there. Especially to that part of the town. And apparently, my car's tracking system didn't know it either. Fangtasia was located in a suburban shopping area of Shreveport, close to a Sam's and a Toys "R" Us. It was a shopping strip mall, which was all closed down at that hour. In fact, because it had taken me a while to find the bar, it was just a barely more than an hour before sunset when I arrived there.

I immediately rang the bell, and a girl who said her name was Ginger opened the door. I could see behind her the bar's interior. Everything was in gray, black and red. The walls were lined with framed pictures of old movies and the lighting was dim. The waitress then told me that I would never be able to get inside, nor talk to the owner, unless I was to come again after 10 pm, pay the entrance fee and then be just another patron of the place. And the way she said it… Well, it was as if Ginger _really_ didn't want me there during the day, when the bar was closed. And that, obviously, just made me more curious about it, and more determinate to get inside.

And that was why, when half an hour later, I saw Ginger carrying a bag to a close by dumpster, I immediately ran inside so I'd take a look at the place. But it only looked like a regular, empty bar, and there wasn't anything there that would grant for Ginger's absolute necessity of keeping people away from there. I was behind the counter, trying to find what in hell was Ginger trying to hide, when I heard her footsteps getting in again. And so I ran to the back of the bar, so Ginger wouldn't see me. And then I opened the bathroom's doors, but both the men's and the women's were windowless, and I sure wouldn't be able to get away from there that way. And neither from the other two doors, who only had regular, windowless again, offices. And that let me door number five, which I finally opened.

And despite the fact that there wasn't any window there as well, there were stairs to what might be some sort of basement. I immediately got inside and I closed the door behind me, thinking that I'd try to leave later, after the bar was full of clients. And so, I started going downstairs. However, the floor immediately below the bar had a closed door, which I tried to open but without any luck. I kept walking down the stairs to another floor.

And it was dark in there, with only a little security light. And cold. And it scared the hell out of me. It was as if bad things had happened there… What was that place?

"Hello? Is anyone here? Hello? Jason? Jason, are you here?" I asked, no longer caring about Ginger finding me there. When the stairs ended, I kept advancing down a narrow hallway, almost as dark and cold as the stairs. "Jason? Anyone? Is… is there anyone here?"

And that was when I heard a voice echoing from down the hallway. And, oh God, it sounded just like Jason's. I immediately ran towards the voice, and I saw my brother in a sort of cell.

"Sookie?" he whispered.

I then rushed up to the cell and I saw him clearly, despite the poor light in the place. "Oh, Jason!"

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"Catfish called saying that you had missed work. And he said that you had told him about coming here yesterday," I answered while grabbing my brother's hands. "Oh, your hands are like ice. We have to get you out of here," I told him. It was so cold and dark in there. Had Jason spent the night there? He then coughed for a minute or two.

"Sookie, I want you to leave this place," he said with a husky voice. Jason was probably with a cold, and I was sure that he hadn't taken his meds that day. He shouldn't be there, in the dark and cold. He should be at home, being taken care so he'd come back to health.

"Who has done this to you?"

"No time to explain. You must go… now!"

Despite being ashamed of me, my brother had always protected me while we were kids. And he had helped me to deal with our parents and later our grandmother's deaths. And I would _not_ lose him as well. And so, I would not leave him. Not at all. I couldn't lose Jason as well. Not to his kidney disease. Not to alcohol. And not to whoever had jailed him. Jason was the only one left in my life and I couldn't lose him as well. "I won't leave you," I told him.

I was trying to better see the way that the door was closed, so I'd find a way to free Jason, when someone grabbed my shoulder and whipped me around against a wall. There was something here with me, but it was dark in there, except for one beam of light from the hallway, and so I couldn't really see who had grabbed me. I could only listen to him. Or perhaps, to _it_? Because then, I could only hear someone or something sniffing the air, growling and groaning. And I was already thinking that perhaps it _was_ an animal rather than a person, when he spoke.

"What are you doing here?" a man's voice asked.

"Run, Sookie," Jason immediately screamed.

"Who's there? Who are you?" I asked into the darkness.

"The master of this place," he answered with a voice as cold and as dark as the basement.

I took a deep breath while I mustered the courage to speak to that… person. I heard Jason telling me again to run, right before he started coughing again. And the mere thought of losing my brother gave me audacity necessary for me to say, "I've come for my brother. Please let him out! Can't you see he's sick?"

"Then he shouldn't have trespassed here," he immediately said.

"But he could die. He needs his meds. He has a kidney disease," I answered, trying to reason with the tall person in the shadow, "Please, I'll do anything!"

"There's nothing you can do. He's my prisoner."

Prisoner? Who was that person? Why would someone have a "prisoner"? And why would that prisoner be my brother, the only one left in my family. I remembered again my Gran's voice and her last wish and plead when she was dying, for me to take care of my brother. She had told me that despite the fact that he was older than I was, Jason would always need my help throughout his life, and then Gran made me promise her that I'd always look out for him. And then, not two minutes after I promised her that I would, she passed away.

Alas, for Gran's memory and for Jason's health, I said, "Oh, there must be some way I can...wait! Take me, instead!"

"You! You would take his place?"

And then I heard my brother's voice, "Sookie! No! You don't know what you're doing!"

But I did know what I was doing. I was doing what I had promised my dying grandmother that I would, I was taking care of my brother, so he'd be able to go back and have a life. Deep down, I knew that I would never marry or have kids, and so, my brother was really the only possibility of another generation of Stackhouses. And I owed it to Gran to make sure that Jason would be able to have a family. "If I did, would you let him go?" I asked the shadow.

"Yes, but you must promise to stay here forever," he answered immediately.

Forever. Forever meant not going back. Could I really do that for my brother? But then I realized that I didn't really have much to go back to: no friends, a job that I enjoyed but with no future, and only a pompous Bill Compton after me. And Jason, on the other hand, despite his health and his drinking problems, had a young girl, Chrystal, who despite still being unmarried to him, was carrying his baby.

"Can you turn on some light? I'd like to see you…" I whispered before I answered the man in the dark.

And then he grabbed a lighter and a huge fire flame illuminated the room. It was not that it was a great light, but because up until then we had been almost without any light at all, the flame from the lighter was quite an improvement.

And that was when I saw him. He was blond and blue-eyed, tall and broad-shouldered. He was wearing boots, jeans, and a vest. And nothing else. And he… he had fangs. There were actual fangs coming out from his mouth. And his eyes… they were incredibly beautiful. But cold too. He was a man who hated life and people. He had hatred in his heart. He looked strong, mean and violent. And he absolutely scared me to death.

"No, Sookie. I won't let you do this!" Jason said, almost crying like a baby.

A baby… I then remembered that Chrystal was already four months pregnant, and starting to show. So, no matter what Jason would say, I had already made up my mind. And, after I regained my composure, I stepped into the beam of the light, closer to where the monster was. I took a deep breath, and then I whispered, "You have my word." And with those words, I left everything I knew behind, and I entered into a whole new world. One where there were beasts with fangs, and where I was no longer free, but a prisoner of a cold, heartless monster. It was a whole new _awful_ world.

And suddenly, the beast ended the little light that was coming from the lighter and he said "Done!", right before he moved over to unlock my brother's cell. And that was when I felt that I couldn't take it anymore and I collapsed to the floor with my head in my hands. I then heard the door being unlocked and Jason rushing over to me.

"No, Sookie. Listen to me. I'm older; _I _should be taking care of you. You deserve to have your li…"

But then I could no longer hear Jason, because that _thing_ had grabbed him and was dragging him through the hallway towards the stairs.

"Wait," I screamed to him, but with no avail.

"Sookie!" I heard Jason's voice screaming back, right before I heard the beast telling Jason that if he was to say anything about what had happened there, to anyone, he'd kill me instantly. Jason then begged him to spare his sister.

"She's no longer your concern," the man with the fangs answered him, "and remember: not a word, or she'll be history."

And then I heard a door closing, and nothing more.

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><p><strong>So? What did you think about it? Please review if you can. I'll update again, in just a couple of days. <strong>

**"A Whole New World" is the Oscar winning featured pop single from the soundtrack to the 1992 Disney film Aladdin. It was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Tim Rice. The song is a ballad between the primary characters Aladdin and Jasmine about the new world they are going to discover together. The original version was sung by Brad Kane and Lea Salonga during the film. They also performed the song in their characters at the 65th Academy Awards, where it won Best Song. **


	3. Colors of the Wind

**Hi everybody! First of all, thank you for your feedback. I know that this is a silly crossover (and _sooooo_ different from my other story…), and I sure appreciate that you guys are reading and reviewing it. Charhamblin was kind enough to beta this for me. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter and I hope to hear from you. Hugs, Célia**

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><p><strong>Eric Northman<strong>

I had just told Maxwell Lee to drive Jason Stackhouse in his own car, back home, when Indira and Pam approached me, and the former said, "Master?"

I was completely out of my mind, when I angrily answered a crude, "What?"

And while my rash reply did shut up Indira, Pam continued, "Since the girl is going to be with us for quite some time, I was thinking that you might want to offer her a more comfortable room." But then, after a few seconds, when my only answer was an angry growl at her, Pam immediately added, "Then again, maybe not."

Nevertheless, Pam was right. And I knew that she was right. However, I didn't know how to be with the girl, how to talk to her; and so she'd be staying downstairs, in her cell, for quite some time until I'd be able to deal with her presence.

But, as soon as I got there again, I saw that she was still crying and it pained me. "You didn't even let me say goodbye. I'll never see him again and I didn't get to say goodbye," she said between her tears.

And you know what? It made me feel real bad that I had done that, so I found myself calming down, changing my mind about her future quarters, and whispering, "I'll show you to your room."

And then, surprised, the girl asked, "My room?", and then, indicating her cell, she added, "But I thought…"

And hell! There I was, making an effort, while she wasn't even trying. And feeling my anger rising again, I said, "You wanna… you wanna stay in the cell?"

"No," she whispered.

"Then follow me," I told her while I opened her cell, before I started leading her upstairs. And then, both Pam and the girl tagged along with me, and we left the bar through the employees' door, and we drove my car towards my house. And once inside, I led her to the upstairs floor. We were half way towards her room, when I heard her sobbing and trying to not cry. Or, I guess, trying to cry _quietly_, would be a more adequate description.

"Say something to her," Pam whispered to me.

"Hmm… I… umm… hope you like it here," I said to the girl and I saw Pam motioning me to continue, "The whole house is your home now, so you can go anywhere you wish. Except the West Wing's room," I said. I'd never let her in my room at the house. There was where I kept the magic rose, and I sure didn't want to have to explain it to her.

"What's in there?" she quietly whispered.

"It's forbidden!" I replied screaming so loud that it echoed in the stairway. And then we walked the whole way towards her new room in silence. When we arrived, I told her, as tenderly as I could, "Now, if there's anything you need, my servants will attend you."

"Dinner," Pam whispered, "Invite her to dinner."

"You…" I started to say, but then I stopped. How the hell would I invite her to dinner? And I didn't eat, so why would I invite her to have dinner? Furthermore, why would she accept to have dinner with me? The answer was clear: she wouldn't. And I'd be laughed at by Pam and all the others. And I just… I could not, I _would not_, allow the girl to mock me. And so, quite angry at myself for in just a few moments falling for the girl so hard, I then growled, "You… will join me for dinner," and then I added, "That's not a request!" before I left, slamming the door behind me.

I then went to the living room of the house and I stayed there, for a little more than an hour, just thinking about Marnie's spell, the old magic rose, and the new girl who was at my house.

Pam had left to help the girl, _Sookie_ as her driving card said, dress more than half an hour before. And I was already losing my patience, so I left my bedroom and went to the living room, to wait for the girl. Or rather, to _impatiently_ wait for the girl. In fact, since that fateful night when I had been turned, my patience was something really thin, and _very_ breakable. And so, there I was, pacing back and forth in front of the fire, in the dining room, with Clancy and Thalia looking at me as if they had never seen me before. And, well… I guess that they had never seen me _that way_ before. In my nervousness, I then asked, "What's taking so long? I told her to come down. Why isn't she here yet?"

"Oh, try to be patient, sir," Thalia said. Yeah, right. Of the seven of us, Thalia was the one with least amount of patience, right after me. I almost felt like laughing at her remark. Almost. And then, she added, "The girl has lost her brother and her freedom all in one day."

"Uh… Master," Clancy said, "Have you thought that, perhaps, this girl could be the one to break the spell?"

Clancy had always been stupid. He was stupid before he had become what he was now, and he kept being stupid after that. And so, angrily, I answered him, "Of course I have. I'm not a fool."

"Good," he said, as if he hadn't even noticed my previous tone, "You fall in love with her, she falls in love with you, and… Poof! The spell is broken! We'll be human by midnight!"

"It's not that easy, Clancy," Thalia answered him, "These things take time."

"But the rose has already begun to wilt," Clancy stupidly insisted.

I then took a very unnecessary deep breathe because, although stupid, Clancy _was _right. The rose had indeed started to wilt, and we didn't have much time. But how would I ever make such a girl love me? She was so young, and so beautiful, and… Whereas I… I was a monster. Damn it. It was a lost cause right from the start. "It's no use…" I said, "She's so beautiful, and I'm so… well, look at me!" I said through my long, disheveled hair, and my fangs. My _always-there_ fangs.

"Oh, you must help her to see past all that," Thalia said.

"I don't know how," I recognized unhopefully.

"Well, you can start by making yourself more presentable," Thalia answered me, "Straighten up, try to act like a gentleman." And despite the fact that her "try" bothered me, I did, indeed, tried to straighten up and look as gentlemanly as I could.

"Ah, yes…." Clancy said, looking at me. And then, he too, added in to my "transformation" by saying that when the girl showed up, that I should give her a "dashing, debonair smile". "Come, come… Show me the smile."

And then I did. I smiled. But, as I could see from my reflection in the mirror, I was only bearing my ragged fangs in a scary grin.

"But don't frighten the poor girl," Thalia said immediately, to which Clancy quickly added, "Impress her with your rapier wit."

"But be gentle."

"Shower her with compliments."

"But be sincere."

And so they continued adding piece after piece of advice, one after the other, after the other. And I was already completely losing my mind, when they both said, at the same time that I must control my temper. And it was fitting because, then, I was really about to lose that control. And so, I took another very unnecessary breath and I tried to gather enough courage for me to talk to the girl.

And that was when the door creaked open, and I wiped my anger-face off, and started looking to the door expectantly.

"Here she is," Clancy whispered.

However, it was only Long Shadow, and not the girl who entered the room, saying, or rather, whispering a very shy "good evening". And then I immediately went from expectant to mad, and I growled, "Well, where is she?"

And then Long Shadow, immediately started to buy time, "Who? Oh! The girl. Yes, the, ah, girl. Well, actually, she's in the process of, ah, um, circumstances being what they are, ah... she's not coming," he said.

And after my screamed "What?" I ran to the girl's room and banged at her door, with Long Shadow, Thalia and Clancy running after me.

-x-

**Sookie Stackhouse**

In just a few minutes I had last seen my brother, I had been told that I'd never go back to my home, and I had been made a prisoner of a monster. An _actual_ beast. So, I did the only thing that I could: I cried. And I cried like a little child, sobbing nonstop until I heard someone knocking on "my" bedroom's door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

And then I heard from outside the door, "It's me, Pam." And when I went to open the door, I saw the blond girl that had walked here with me and that beast, enter the room. She was lovely, and had such a round face and sweet features that she would have done credit to a milkmaid. I immediately wondered what would she be doing next to that beast of a man?

"Wow, you _do_ smell amazingly," she said right before her fangs ran out, kind of ruining the image, from her teeth or her gums or… whatever. _Oh my God!_ The girl was a monster too! Would she kill me? Or bite me or hurt me? What was she? Had she been made like that because of the tall, blond monster? Was he her mate?

And that was when I realized that, even without wanting to, I was pointing at her teeth, while I said, "But you… ah… but…"

And then, she said, with her perfect (and still fangy) smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. It was just that… well, you _do _smell wonderfully. Eric had said so, but his senses are much keener that ours, and I only realized just now how sweet you were." She paused, smiled again and went to sit on the bed, before she touched the bed at her side, as if telling me to sit with her. But when she realized that I hadn't moved, she added, "Come, sit with me. Look, I'll put the fangs away." And then, almost instantly, the girl put her teeth up (or in?) and she looked like everyone else.

And so, while I was sitting on the bed, I mumbled, "This is impossible…" Who were those people? Were they humans? Or something else? Well, the tall man, _Eric_ she had called him, was definitely something else. He was a beast, a monster. But this small girl… She looked like a regular person. But was she?

"I know it is, but here we are!" she answered still smiling (but now it was a non-fangy smile). "Listen," she started saying, "I was talking to the others, and we all think that it was a very brave thing what you did. Not many people would be that brave."

"Or stupid," I replied.

"Now…. Why would you say that?"

"Because I've just lost my brother, my dreams, everything," I answered, and I was almost crying again.

"Would you… would you mind if I tried something?"

"What?"

"Just this… Look… Look at me. Look at my eyes," she said, and I immediately did it. She then stepped in front of me, with her hands resting lightly on my shoulders, and looked down at me. I could see a faint shine of her skin and eyes, and I peered up at her, wondering what the hell she was trying to do to me. And then… nothing happened. I felt only a nearly drug-like relaxation, but nothing else. "Can you feel my influence?" she asked. She sounded a little breathless.

"Not really. What do you mean? Your influence?"

"Humm… your brother couldn't either."

"He couldn't what?"

"We… we can make you humans do things, think that events happened this way or that way, or make them forget. It's how we've kept ourselves in secret for all these years. It's sort of a… hypnosis or something. But neither you nor your brother seems to be glamourable. It's strange…"

_You humans._ So that meant that _they_ weren't humans. Or, at least, they didn't consider themselves humans. I wondered what they called themselves and how (and why) were they that way. And what more differences, between the keener senses that she had talked about and the "glamouring" thing (and the fangs, obviously), was there between us humans and… well, whatever they were.

"Oh…" I answered because I couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"Anyway, cheer up! It'll turn out all right in the end. You'll see," she said. And I appreciated her words. Without the fangs out, Pam looked like someone who could be a friend, if not for the fact that she lived with that Eric-character, who was… well, my jail-guard. And then, still in her new good-mood, Pam stood and walked towards the wardrobe. And right before she opened it, she started saying, almost to herself, "Well now, what shall we dress you in for dinner? Let's see what I've got here…" And then she pulled out a pink dress, showed it to me, and added, "Ah! There, you'll look ravishing in this one!"

"That's very kind of you," I answered her while she started choosing a fitting pair of shoes, "but I'm not going to dinner."

Pam's eyes opened immensely, as well as her mouth. It was as if not going to dinner was a mortal sin or something. "Oh, but you must!" she said.

And that was when we heard someone else knocking on the door, and opening it. He was an American Indian, with long coal black straight hair and a craggy nose, a straight line of a mouth, and a whippy build. I wondered if he, too, had hidden fangs. "Hello, beautiful woman," he said smiling, "My name is Long Shadow. And I've come here to tell you that dinner is served."

What? Had that… _beast_ really meant what he had said before? Did he really expect me to have dinner with him? I could be his prisoner, but I would never be a willing prisoner. Stockholm Syndrome be damned, I would _never_ spend time with that monster unless he locked me in some place close to him. I told them both that I would _not_ have dinner with him.

"I won't go," I answered.

And that was when I noticed both Pam's and Long Shadow's faces. They were scared of my words. Or rather, they were scared of the monster's reaction to my words. And even though I pitied them, and I didn't want to cause them any problems, I didn't change my mind, and I kept answering that I would not eat with _him_. And when, ten minutes later, Long Shadow realized that I had spoken my mind, he left to tell my answer to "Master". _Master._ Who did he think he was? This might be his house, and they might be his employees, but he was no "Master". Damn him.

And then, less than a minute later, I heard _him,_ knocking at my door, and yelling at it, "I thought I told you to come down to dinner!"

Well, he thought correctly. He _had _told me that, but he hadn't _asked_ me to dinner. And I sure wouldn't do was he wanted just because he wanted it. He might be called "Master" by Pam, Long Shadow, and all the others. But he was not_ my_ master, and he would never be.

"I'm not hungry," I answered from behind the door, looking at Pam, who was almost begging me to say yes with her eyes.

"You'll come out or I'll…. I'll… I'll break down the door!"

And despite the fact that the door was closed, I could hear a man's voice saying "Master, I could be wrong, but that may not be the best way to win the girl's affections." What? Why? Why would that monster want to win my "affections"? He would _never_ win me. Never. And then a woman's voice from behind the door said, "Please, attempt to be a gentleman."

As if… As if that beast would ever be a gentleman. No way. And the proof was in his next angry growl, "But… she is being so… difficult," the monster said. Me? _I _was difficult? Well, if I wasn't in such a desperate situation, being a prisoner and all, I'd sure laugh at the irony of his words. And then, the same woman's voice from before, replied, "Gently, gently…"

"Will you come down to dinner?" the beast, _Eric,_ said. But I could still hear the dejected tone in his voice. And so, I simply replied, "No!"

And after a couple of silent seconds, he added, "It would give me great pleasure if you would join me for dinner…" And after another two seconds of silence, "Please."

But I had already made up my mind, and I would answer him no, obviously. I would not make things easier for _him_. But I _could_ be polite to him. I was, after all, a southern woman, and I had been raised to believe that I should always have manners, and so he earned, a respectful, "No, thank you."

But despite my good manners, he was still furious at my answer, "You can't stay in there forever!" he screamed.

And, quite provokingly, I answered, "Yes, I can!"

"Then go ahead and starve," he yelled back at me, "If you don't eat with me, then you won't eat at all," he kept screaming, and then he obviously left because I heard a door slamming down the hall.

"That didn't go very well at all, did it?" Pam whispered at me. But I couldn't even face her, so I went to the bed, and I lay there, with my face crushed on the pillow. And then Pam moved from my bed, to a close-by couch, and she left me to cry for what was probably almost an hour. And later, when I sat up again on my bed, she whispered, "The master's not so bad once you get to know him. Why don't you give him a chance?"

"I don't want to know him," I answered truthfully; "I don't want to have anything to do with him!"

"I sure wish you'd give him the chance to change your mind," she said. And I was about to answer her that I wouldn't, when she added, "Anyway, come with me downstairs and I'll fix you something to eat."

"But… He said…"

"Oh, pish posh. I'm not going to let you go hungry. Come with me."

And then, after I washed my face, so my recent tears wouldn't be so evident, we left the room, towards the kitchen, where I saw Long Shadow and where I was introduced to Clancy, Maxwell Lee and Indira. And you want to know something strange? Even though the kitchen was brand new, and it had all the proper equipment of a modern kitchen, it was obvious that no one ever ate there. In fact, all the food and ingredients had obviously been opened just then, for my dinner (I could even see the supermarket bags on the counter). I wondered why they didn't eat there. That monster wouldn't obviously be able to leave and eat with other people… However, I was indeed hungry, so I left my thoughts for later, and I ate a lovely dinner in the company of those strange, yet nice, people.

And soon, after my dinner was eaten (strangely none of them had wanted to eat or drink), Maxwell Lee and Clancy both offered to show me the rest of the house. And you know what? It was a beautiful place, with high ceilings and huge rooms. The house tour was going on perfectly until I saw a beautiful stairway. And because Clancy and Maxwell had been so kind in showing me everything else, I obviously wondered why they didn't talk about where that stairway would lead to.

"What's up there?" I asked, unable to contain my own curiosity.

"Where? Up there? Nothing. Absolutely nothing of interest at all in the West Wing. Dusty, dull, very boring," Clancy immediately answered. _"West Wing"_ That made me remember the beast's words earlier that night.

"Oh, so that's the West Wing… I wonder what he's hiding up there," I answered.

"Hiding? The Master is hiding nothing," Maxwell added.

"Then it wouldn't be forbidden," I answered.

"Well… it… it's dirty and there's a door to which we lost the key. And it's closed. And because we lost the key… it's dirty and… there's no key. So… there's no need for us to go there. Because it's dirty. And… well, closed. You know… no key," Clancy answered nervously.

"Perhaps you'd like to see our library?" Maxwell suggested.

"There's a library?" I asked, unable to hide my excitement over the possibility of access to books.

"Yes, it's lovely and it has tons of books," Clancy answered, before he added, "Come. Let's leave the dusty, closed, without-key West Wing and see the library".

And that only made me even more curious about what would be up there, on the elusive West Wing. But it was obvious that none of them would let me go there. And so, I said that I was tired and that I was going to my bedroom to sleep for the night.

And I _did _go to the bedroom.

But I didn't sleep.

Instead, I waited there until the house was silent, before I left the room towards the West Wing, my curiosity overtaking me. I walked to the stairway, and I kept going. But my excitement over what would be there began to dwindle, though, when I entered the hallway leading to the end of the West Wing. And, as I walked down the hall, I stopped to look in a mirror that had been shattered into several pieces, each one reflecting my concerned look. The whole house was impeccably treated. Why wouldn't they change the mirror?

But discarding that detail, I kept walking and I reached the end of the hall, only to find a closed door with gargoyle handles. And again, I was left wondering why would that part of the house would be so different from the rest? There were no such monster handles anywhere else. _Monster. _Maybe this would be the beast's room? I was extremely scared of that possibility. But, at the same time, I knew that I wouldn't be able to resist to my curiosity and I tried to open the door, expecting to find it closed. And so, I took a deep breath and reached out. And, to my awe, the door actually opened, and I began to explore what looked like an old lair of a Marvel's Comics' anti-hero. There were almost no lights there, and everything was dusty and old. And cold. It was almost freezing in here, and I couldn't _not_ be completely shocked by everything that I was seeing. And I was wandering around, looking, when I accidently knocked over an aged, covered in dust, table. However, I got to it before it crashed to the floor. And that was when I turned my head and I saw the picture. Or rather, that was when I saw the _shredded _picture on the wall. And it was… it looked like part of a portrait. And I reached out and lift the shreds of the picture. And wow! It was the painting of a beautiful man, with a perfect, warm smile. And he kind of looked like… well, like that Eric-character, if he hadn't been such a monster.

And again, I wondered about this whole strange place. The West Wing, was, indeed unclean like Clancy had said. But there didn't seem to be any reason for it to be prohibited… Well, until I saw something incredible: it was a rose, a deep red rose, and it was under a bell jar. I walked towards it, and I knew that my eyes were transfixed because of it. It was as if the rose glowed, as if there was a light inside of the flower. And it was flowing in the air. Completely unable to resist the rose's attraction, I reached out, and then I lifted off the jar, leaving the rose unprotected. I was about to touch it when I saw… no, I _felt_ a shadow falling over me. Eric, the man, the _beast_, had been on the balcony that whole time, and he had just seen me. He jumped back into the room, with an uncanny speed, and he immediately slammed the jar back on the rose, before turning his attention to me.

"Why did you come here?" he asked, growing angrily.

And while trying to back away, I scarily said, "I'm sorry."

"I warned you never to come here!" he screamed.

"I didn't mean any harm."

But my answer made him even angrier, it seemed, and he kept yelling, while beginning to trash at the furniture, "Do you realize what you could have done?"

"Please, stop! No!" I pleaded him, even more scared than before.

"Get out! GET OUT!"

And I did. I turned and I fled the room. But then, when I was about to go back to my room, I noticed that the door was opened, and despite having previously given my word, I decided to just leave that house and never come back. And that was what I did. I left.

As soon as I left the house, I saw my car at the front, and I ran to it. However, it was locked. And that was when I remembered that I had put my car keys in my purse, which had been left on the ground of the bar's basement. Apparently, someone had found my purse and then driven my car here. But that same person (if it was, indeed, a person – which after that night, I wasn't so sure about it), hadn't left the keys in the car's ignition. Thus, there was no other option, but to run.

Again, I was faced with an option: run towards the street, where I would most likely find someone (another human who'd save me, or those fang-monsters who were after me); or instead, try the woods, in the back of the house, where I could better try to hide.

I chose the forest. And I started running nonstop through it, with only the moon's light shining to show me the way.

I had been running for at least 15 or 20 minutes when I first heard them, and I was scared to my core. I then looked around me to try and picture where and what they might be, so I'd run the opposite direction, when I saw them for the first time. In the moon light, I could see that there were at least five or six of them. Wolves. I immediately started running into a clearing, but I was soon surrounded by those animals again. And that was when I grabbed a stick and tried to defend myself. However, one wolf took hold of the stick in its mouth and broke half of it off, leaving me, _again, _completely defenseless. And almost at the same time, another animal leaped at me, grabbing the corner of my cloak and dragging me to the ground. And then, in just a blink of an eye, I realize that there was a third wolf about to jump on top of me. But as soon as it leaped, it was caught mid-air by… Eric. And suddenly they lunged at each other, while another wolf ripped a hole in Eric's shoulder, and the other focused their attack on his leg.

The scariest moment of my life so far? It was that exact moment! And I suddenly realized that I was _worried _about Eric. Call it some sort of Stockholm Syndrome, or just a thankful feeling because he had put himself in the middle of those animals for me, or… Hell, I don't know. I just know that I was really scared that the wolves would hurt Eric, because, you know… Fangs or no fangs, white, cold skin or not, and despite his height, Eric still looked like a human. Well, sort of. But he was, at least, of a human's size (though he was definitely tall and broad-shouldered). And those were… well, at least five or six wolves. And they were all attacking Eric at the same time and… well, I was really worried for him.

And then, suddenly, Eric threw a wolf against a tree, knocking it out. And then he did the exact same thing to another wolf. And maybe one of those wolves was the pack-leader, or maybe the wolves were smarter creatures than I had thought... No matter the reason, the other wolves immediately ran away in fear. And that was when Eric turned back to me, looked at me despairingly and then he just… collapsed. And _that_ was my best opportunity. That was my best shot to escape. I'd be free again if I just kept running away from that place. But I couldn't because my conscience took over, and so, I just walked over to the fallen mixture of man and beast that had just saved me. I helped him get up, and then we slowly walked back towards his mansion, with him laying on me.

And as soon as we got there, I called for Pam, Clancy and the others. But none of them showed up. Where were they? Didn't they care about Eric? But anyway, when I realized that I'd have to take care of Eric just by myself, I then told him to sit on the living room's couch, and then I went to the kitchen to boil some water. Just a few minutes later, I was sitting by Eric and soaking a rag in the water. When I turned back to him, I found quite a disturbing image, because Eric was licking one of the bleeding wounds that the wolves had given him, just like an animal would do.

"Here now…" I said, barely more than whispering, "Oh, don't do that." And then I tried to clean his wound with the rag, but Eric growled at me. "Just… hold still," I told him right before I touched the rag to his arm wound and he roared in pain.

I was already expecting an outburst from him, like before, but instead, Eric just told me in a loud, but not quite screaming voice, "That hurts!"

Never one to be outdone, I counterpointed, "If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much."

But apparently, Eric was just like me, and he didn't allow me a last word, so he answered, "Well, if you hadn't run, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Well, if you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!"

And then Eric opened his mouth to respond, but he then stopped before he said anything. He was probably trying to come up with a good line. I was putting the rag inside the hot water again, when he finally answered, "Well, you shouldn't have been in the West Wing!"

"Well, you should learn to control your temper," I immediately answered.

And again Eric had the same face from before, when he had been trying to bring out another point. And apparently, he found he had none, so he just bowed his head down, and I felt better with myself because apparently, I had just conquered the ferocious temper of Eric. Trying to not smile at that conquest, I moved the rag closer to his wound, and I said, "Now, hold still. This may sting a little." Eric then gave a surprised grunt, and then gritted his teeth and fangs as the rag was applied. And that was when, in a tender tone that surprised even me, I added, "By the way, thank you, for saving my life."

Eric then looked at me, with his amazing blue eyes. He looked surprised when he answered me, also with a tenderly voice that surprised me as much as my previous tender tone had before, "You're welcome."

And then he smiled. And despite his fangs, there was almost a _goodness _in his smile, and I found myself wondering if Eric wasn't a good guy behind all those layers of anger and resentment, and wondering why was I changing my mind regarding him. But even more than that, I found myself wondering why the hell did I want to just hug him, hold him in my arms and… well… kiss him.

-x-

**Eric Northman **

Pam had dealt with everything regarding Sookie's absence. She had brought her car over to my house, she had written to her boss, talking about taking a long leave, and she had dealt with Sookie's bills, as well. And so, there hadn't been a single thing that would force Sookie to leave my side – other than her will to do it, that is. But that desire to go back to her town of Bon Temps had apparently disappeared during her first night with us, after she had tried to run.

Not that I had asked her if she still wanted to be here (I didn't dare to risk a negative answer), but she just… she looked happy there with us. _With me. _And so, for the last week, Sookie had been staying at the mansion.

And you know what? During that time, something… _strange_ (to say the least) had happened around me. It was as if the air smelled better. It was as if the atmosphere around my house was lighter. It was as if there were colors in the wind.

And, to tell you the truth, that same strange thing had also happened _to me_, and not only around me_. _Why? Because I had started having… _feelings _for her. And yes, I can't deny that I thought that she might be the girl who'd break the spell, but it was more than that. I loved her company; I loved to talk to her, to be with her in the same room, to know that she was close by, in safety within my reach… And it had nothing to do with the spell. It had to do with how she made me feel with myself… I felt… _better _when she was around, and I wished the same for her. I wanted _her _to be better because of me. And that was exactly what I was saying to Pam, late one night, "I… I've never felt this way about anyone…"

"I'm glad for you."

"It's… it's strange Pam. I… I want to do something for her. But what?" I added, feeling discouraged already with the whole situation. Why would such a beautiful and lovely girl as Sookie ever want such a Beast as me?

"Well, there are the usual things like flowers or candy… But…"

"But what, Pam?"

"But she deserves something special."

"She does. She deserves everything."

"Yes, it has to be something that sparks her interest and… wait a minute! I've just figured out what you should do. Clancy and Maxwell Lee told me that she had looked interested in seeing your library… You could show it to her," Pam told me smiling.

And that was what I did.

And in less than half an hour after that conversation, I was walking through a hallway towards the big room that we used as a library. But then, right before I opened the big doors, I told Sookie, or rather, I whispered to her, "Sookie, there's something I want to show you. But first, you have to close your eyes."

She then looked at me questioningly, making me wondering how I would ever be able to tell her about my feelings, if she even questioned a simple thing as that. But then, as soon as I told her that it was a surprise, _she_ surprised me by smiling at me before she closed her eyes. I then waved my hand in front of her, making sure that she had indeed closed her eyes. And then I opened the doors, and I lead her in.

And just as she entered the room, she asked, "Can I open them?"

"No, no. Not yet. Wait here," I told her before I walked away to draw back the curtains. And as soon as I did it, the moonlight spilled into the room. It was as if the full moon was right next to the huge windows, and after turning a small lamp on as well, it was more than enough light to show Sookie the room.

"Now, can I open them?" she asked again, obviously feeling the light despite her closed eyes.

"All right. Now…" I whispered.

She then opened her eyes and found herself in a gigantic library filled with books.

"I can't believe it. I've never seen so many books in all my life!" she said. And the way she smiled just meant the world to me. I'd do everything in the world for her to smile like that because of me, and not my books. Nevertheless, it warmed me inside, and I almost felt my heart beating again inside my heart.

"You… you like it?" I asked, suddenly unsure of myself.

"It's wonderful," she answered, still looking around her and not at me.

"Then… it's yours."

"Oh no… I can't accept it. It's too much and I…" she said, still looking around her.

"I insist," I interrupted.

"Oh, thank you so much," she said, finally looking at me, and not at the books. And smiling at me too.

"You're welcome. I… I want you to feel free to come here and pick whichever book you'd like. And if there's something that you want and it's not here, just tell me and I'll get it for you." And I would. I would give her whatever she wanted.

"Thank you," she whispered, still smiling.

And that marked the beginning of a different relationship between us. From then on, we were… well… almost friends. And… Okay, so I admit it: I knew that I was mean, and coarse and unrefined, but from then on, I really tried to show Sookie that there was also something good in me, despite my doubts of how to do it. And you know what? There was this one time, when I thought I saw her glancing in a… special way towards me. And she had never looked at me that way before. But the best part was when we touched and she didn't shudder at my cold skin.

And so, little step by little step, we started getting more and more close and, like I said, we started becoming friends. But I wanted more. I wanted to be more than Sookie's friend. I wanted her to love me, and not just like me, because I sure loved her. And, with Pam's cheering for me, I had finally decided that I'd tell Sookie the truth of what I felt for her.

And that was how I found myself in my room, with Pam and Clancy there with me.

"Tonight is the night!" Clancy was saying.

"I'm not sure I can do this," I answered him, hesitantly.

"You don't have time to be timid. You must be bold, daring," Pam replied.

"Bold. Daring," I repeated after her.

"We have everything ready. The dinner, the candle light, the soft music… Everything will be perfect, sir," Clancy added a second later, before he left the room, leaving me only with Pam.

"He's right, you know. The living room is perfect. You'll have plenty of opportunities to confess your love."

I then took a very unnecessary deep breath. Pam was right. I had to do it. I looked at myself in the mirror, "Yes, I, I conf… No, I can't."

"You care for the girl, don't you?"

"More than anything," I confessed to her.

"Well, then you must tell her," she said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. "And now come, your lady waits."

I then left my room, and I went to the living room, where the moonlight and the candle light allowed me to see Sookie. She was dressed in a summer dress, it was cut square and low in the neck and it was sleeveless. It was sort of tight and white, but the fabric was thinly scattered with bright red flowers with long green stems. Her tan glowed in contrast with the white fabric. And she had never looked more beautiful to me as in that moment, when she saw me arriving and she smiled at me.

We then sat at the dinner table, and I watched her eat while I sat beside her. And you know what? It was a perfect moment. Just the two of us, having dinner and talking like old friends. And that was when I remembered that we hadn't known each other that long. In fact, we had been barely friends, when we both bended unexpectedly towards each other. And it had taken us both only a couple of little changes, to get closer and, eventually, friends, like I hope we were. Or maybe, even more. But the night was still a child. And it got even better, when I asked her to dance with me. To grab her hand, and to hold her waist… _That_ was a completely blissful moment in my life. And I had never felt happier before. I could only hope that Sookie would feel happy as well.

"Sookie? Are you happy here with me?" I asked her after we had moved to the balcony, under a starry night.

And then, looking off into the distance, she hesitantly said, "Yes."

"What is it?"

Sookie then looked at me, again. But this time she had an almost desperate air about her. "If only I could see my brother again, just for a moment. I miss him so much," she whispered.

I felt disappointed, to say the least. There I was, on the happiest night of my existence, while Sookie was sad. But then, suddenly, I remembered. "There's a way," I told her before I ran to my room. Just a couple of seconds later, I was back next to Sookie.

"What is that?"

"This mirror will show you anything, anything you wish to see," I answered her.

And then, still hesitantly, she whispered, "I'd like to see my brother, please."

The magic mirror immediately shone to life and Sookie had even to turn her head away as it flashed. I was feeling pretty good with myself. Sookie had said that she only wished to see her brother. And I was giving her what she wanted. But then, all of a sudden, I heard her gasp. And that was when I looked at the mirror myself, and I saw her brother fallen in some room, coughing before he lost his consciousness.

"Jason," she said towards the mirror, "oh, no. He's sick. It's his kidneys. And he's all alone."

I closed my eyes, and I thought of the rose.

"Then…" I whispered, before adding, "Then you must go to him."

"What did you say?"

"I release you. You are no longer my prisoner."

"You mean… I'm free?" she asked in amazement.

And even though it pained me, especially her happiness because she was being let go, I answered a whispered, "Yes."

"Can I… can I really go?"

Even without needing to do it, I took a very deep breathe. I had decided to free her. So she should leave immediately; because if she didn't leave at that moment, I might not have the strength to actually let her leave. "Your purse and car keys are on my study room's table. Just… go," I told her.

"Thank you," she whispered, before she looked at the mirror. And then, still looking at it, she moved so she'd give the object to me.

She was so beautiful. And I cared for her so much… "Take it with you," I said to her, "So you'll always have a way to look back, and remember me."

"Thank you for understanding how much he needs me," she answered while I lightly touched her cheek before she rushed out. Minutes later, I watched from the balcony as Sookie ran towards her car and left the mansion.

Less than half an hour later, as I walked towards my room, Pam asked if it had been a good night. And, in what was a little more than just a whisper, I told her that I had let Sookie go.

"You what? How could you do that?" she asked.

"I had to."

"Yes, but why?"

"Because I love her," I admitted before I closed the bedroom's door so I could be alone.

* * *

><p><strong>Do you think that this is too much "Beauty and the Beast"? Or is it too much "Southern Vampire Novels"? Or do you think that it was a nice "mixture" between the two? Thank you for reading. <strong>

**"Colors of the Wind" by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, was the 1995 Oscar-winner for Best Original Song from the Disney animated feature film, Pocahontas. It also won the Golden Globe in the same category as well as the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Movie. The song poetically presents the Native American viewpoint that the earth is a living entity where humankind is connected to everything in nature.**


	4. Can You Feel the Love Tonight

**So, here's the final "Sookie and the Beast" chapter – beta**_**ed**_** by the lovely Charhamblin. I tried to keep it as "Beauty and the Beast" as possible; while, at the same time, I kept adding as much Southern Vampire Mysteries' details as I could. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this story (oh, and if you haven't yet, go and check my other story). Love you all. Hugs from Portugal, Célia**

* * *

><p><strong>Jason Stackhouse<strong>

It had been a week, and I hadn't yet been able to bring my sister back. When I had been freed that night, and brought home, I had immediately grabbed my phone, so I could call the police. But that was when I remembered the monster's threat of killing Sookie if I was to tell anyone. However, I couldn't _not _do anything. And I sure had to tell someone.

And so, I immediately dropped the phone and instead I drove to Merlotte's.

"Help, someone help me!" I said as soon as I arrived there.

"Jason?" Sam Merlotte, the owner, said.

"Please! Please, I need your help! He's got her. He's got her locked in the dungeon," I answered, coughing.

"Who? What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"He's drunk again," Dawn, a waitress, immediately said.

"He's completely wasted, as always," Arlene, another waitress, added, not a second later.

But I wouldn't let it be, and so I said, "Sookie. We must go. N-not a minute to lose!"

And that was when William Compton moved towards me, "Whoa! Slow down, Jason. Who's got Sookie locked in a dungeon?"

"A beast! A horrible, monstrous beast!"

"So completely drunk again. What was it tonight, Jason? Whiskey? Gin? Vodka? Or just cheap wine?", some guy said.

But I didn't care about what they said, or thought. And so I went from person to person, pleading my case, until I was thrown down to the floor, at Bill's feet. And a moment of silence later, the whole bar started laughing and mocking me.

"Is is a big beast?" Dawn asked, laughing out loud.

"Huge," I said, remembering the blond monster's height.

"With sharp, cruel fangs?" Arlene asked, as amused with the whole situation as Dawn.

"Yes, yes," I told her before I looked at Bill Compton. He was obviously the strongest and most influential man in the town. And I knew that he liked Sookie. If anyone would help me, it would be him. "Will you help me?"

"All right, you drunk fool. We'll help you," he answered me.

"You will? Oh, thank you, thank you!"

But then, two of Bill's old cronies just picked me up and help me out by throwing me through the door while mustering, "Crazy drunk Jason. You're always good for a laugh."

I then left the bar, and I went to the police station. But once there, I wasn't taken any more into consideration than at Merlotte's. I guess that my past drunken nights had rendered me unbelievable in the town.

Over the next few days, I kept trying to make people believe me. But I didn't succeed, especially because on the following day, Sam Merlotte received a letter from Sookie saying that she had decided to go and visit our cousin Hadley in New Orleans for a few days. In the letter, "Sookie" said that she'd be back by the end of the month.

However, I knew best.

I knew that Sookie would never leave like that. Besides, we hadn't heard form Hadley in over four years. The letter had to be that monster's doing. And it bothered me that no one believed me.

Exactly one week after that night, I decided that I'd go to Sookie all by myself. But that was when I felt a deep pain inside my chest, and I fell. It was my kidneys again, and that time there was no one there to give me my pills. I feared that I'd die and that Sookie would have to be with that monster forever.

-x-

**Sookie Stackhouse **

In the last few days, I had met a very different Eric from that first night. Yes, he was still cold to the touch, and he almost always had his fangs out, but he was also gentle, and nice, and caring. And if I'm to tell the truth, I was already missing him from the first second after I left his house. But Jason needed me, and so I drove as quickly as I could back to Bon Temps.

And as soon as I arrived at Jason's, I immediately grabbed his medications and I made him swallow a couple. In less than a minute, Jason opened his eyes.

"Jason?" I whispered.

"Sookie?"

"It's all right, Jason. I'm home."

Jason immediately hugged me, while whispering, "I thought I'd never see you again."

"I missed you so much."

"But the beast," Jason said. And it pained me that he was calling Eric that. Despite the fact that I had thought the same thing, less than a week before. "How did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, Jason. He let me go."

"That horrible beast?" Jason asked.

"But he's different, now. He's changed somehow," I answered. And I couldn't stop my lips from smiling when I remembered Eric's face.

And that was when we both heard someone knocking on the door. I left Jason on the couch and I opened it, before I asked, "My I help you?"

It was an ugly man, and he had a truly sinister air about him. "I've come to collect your brother," he said, stepping aside to show me an Asylum D'Loons ambulance behind him.

"My brother?" I asked.

"Don't worry Miss," he said. "We'll take good care of him."

"My brother's not crazy," I said, appalled at what was happening there.

"He was raving like a lunatic, last week," Dawn said emerging from a crowd that I hadn't even noticed that was there before.

"We all heard him," Arlene added a second later, "We all heard him, didn't we?"

And then all bystanders yelled a loud "yeah!"

"No, I won't let you," I screamed back. "My brother's not crazy!"

"He's a crazy, drunken man. The County decided to commit him to the Asylum so he'll stop drinking and get better," someone yelled.

And that was when I heard Jason. He had left the couch and moved towards the door, "Sookie?"

"Ah, Jason. Tell us again, you fool drunk, just how big was the beast?" One of Bill Compton's friends asked from the crowd.

"Well, he was...that is...enormous. I'd say at least six, no, more like seven feet," Jason answered before the crowd immediately laughed at him.

"Well, you don't get much crazier than that," the other of Bill Compton's sidekicks said.

"It's true, I tell you," Jason insisted.

And then the old guy from the asylum waved his arms and then his orderlies moved in and picked Jason up. "Take him away," he said while Jason begged for the man to let him go.

And that was when Bill Compton, who had been watching from the sides, took a couple of steps towards us, and stood right there.

"No, you can't do this," I said to all of them.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor Sookie," Bill said, "It's a shame about your brother."

"You know he's not crazy, Bill," I told him.

"I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding, if...," Bill answered.

"If what?"

"If you marry me."

"What?" I asked. That again? Why was he insisting on that?

"One little word, Sookie. That's all it takes," he said smiling.

And that was when I realized that that whole situation was probably Bill's fault. He had probably talked to the County people, and he had arranged everything so they'd take Jason. And because he knew how important my brother was to me, he also thought that I'd fall into his blackmail.

And it bothered me. It freaking bothered me. "Never," I screamed at him.

"Have it your way," he said while he turned away slowly, playing hard to get.

"Sookie?" Jason then yelled as he was being thrown into the ambulance.

I immediately ran back to the house, grabbed my big purse and brought it with me towards the door. And then, I took Eric's magic mirror from there. "My brother's not crazy and I can prove it," I said without even stopping to think about what I was doing. I then moved my face from the crowd to the mirror, and I said, "Show me him."

And, like earlier that night, the magic mirror shone again, and then produced an image of Eric. He was destroying the living room's furniture. He roared and the mirror showed his fangs, as I immediately heard "ooh's" and "aahh's" from the people there.

"Is it dangerous?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, no. He'd never hurt anyone," I answered, trying to reassure her. "Please, I know he looks vicious, but he's kind and gentle. He's my friend."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think that you had feelings for this monster," Bill answered me.

"He's no monster Bill," I told him. And as soon as I remembered his attempt at blackmailing me, I added, "You are."

"She's as crazy as her brother," Bill said taking the mirror from my hand, and then moving his back to me, he addressed the crowd, "The beast will make off with your children. He'll come after them in the night."

"No," I yelled.

But Bill didn't care about my yell, and he kept talking, and scaring everyone, "We're not safe 'til we kill him."

And, much to my awe, the crowd cheered Bill's suggestion of killing Eric.

"We're not safe until he's dead."

"He'll come stalking us at night!"

Bill's two friends said. As always, they'd agree with whatever Bill would say.

"Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite," Arlene added. And I just wanted to say that all the bad men that she brought to her house were much more dangerous to her kids than Eric. But I did not even had time to say it because someone else yelled, "He'll wreak havoc on Bon Temps, if we let him wander free."

And that was when Bill interfered again, "So it's time to take some action, boys.  
>It's time to follow me!"<p>

"No, I won't let you do this," I interjected.

"Where is the monster?" Bill then asked.

"I won't say."

At that exact moment, Bill forcefully grabbed my purse and took it from my hands. It was still open, and so Bill had no problem taking my car keys from there. He then threw it to some guy, who was behind him, telling him loudly, "Go check if her GPS system saved her last destination."

And then I wondered if it had indeed… Was my GPS turned on or off? If it was on, it would have saved the last place where the car had stopped… I tried to remember: was it on or off? The last time I had used it was when I had tried to find Fangtasia. Because it was in a somewhat new shopping strip mall, my GPS hadn't recognized the street. But, had I turned it off or left it running?

"No Bill, let him be; he doesn't deserve this. Eric's a good man," I begged while we waited for Bill's henchman to check my car.

"Eric? So this fangy beast has a name?"

"Please, let him be," I whispered.

"Tell me who he is and where he is," he screamed. Because I had just whispered, Bill's yells sounded even louder.

"She's parked in Shreveport, next to a Toys R Us, before she headed to another part of Shreveport… But there's nothing there according to the car system," Bill's aide said from my car. He, too, was yelling. The then walked towards us, with my GPS on his hands.

"What was there Sookie? Why were you in a Toys R Us?" Bill asked me.

By then, I was almost crying, but I still managed to say to the crowd, "No, please. Let us be in peace. All of us. He won't hurt any of you."

"She's lying," I heard someone's voice who I didn't recognized scream.

"Yeah, she's lying," someone else's screamed back, before he added, "She had probably been to Fangtasia, that spooky bar right next to Shreveport's Toys R Us."

I couldn't stand any more, and so I just yelled a scared "no" towards the crowd.

"Tell us Sookie, Is that were you where?"

"I won't say," I repeated my previous words to Bill.

"Is… is it true? Is it Fangtasia's owner? You've been there? I've heard tales about him. About the beast of Shreveport. How he practices the occult and is a Satan's follower… Only a Satan's follower would have fangs and such a magic mirror. And the gossip about Fangtasia's owner… He's told to be a beast… But I've always thought that they were just lies… Apparently, the beast is real." Bill said.

"No. Stop Bill, just stop."

"And this other place that the car marks? Is there where you've been for the past week?"

"I won't tell you anything Bill," I said with as much disdain as I could. But the whole effect of my voice was counter-done by the tears that had started falling down my checks. Eric was in danger. And it was all my fault.

"He's there, isn't he?"

"No," I answered. But, again, my tears showed that I was just too nervous, and they gave away my lie.

"She's lying again," Bill communicated to the crowd, "He beast lives there."

"No, I won't let you do this," I interjected again.

"If you're not with us, you're against us," Bill immediately answered. "Bring the drunken fool," he then said to the men that were still holding Jason.

"Get your hands off me!," my brother said while both he and I were forced inside his house, before Bill somehow managed to grab a rope and locked our door with it from the outside.

"We can't have them running off to warn the creature!" Bill yelled to the crowd.

"Let us out," I screamed. But both Bill and everyone else were still moving away from here.

However, I could still hear Bill's voice, "We'll rid Shreveport and Bon Temps of this beast. Who's with me?" And then, a chorus of "I am's" came from the crowd.

And that was when I moved towards Jason, "I have to warn him. This is my entire fault. Oh, Jason. What are we going to do?"

"Now, now," my brother said, before he added, "We'll think of something."

And it felt good, Jason's confidence. But when a minute later I tried to open the door, I didn't manage it. William's Compton rope was definitely doing a good job, in keeping the door locked from the outside. We would have to break a window. But how would I warn Eric? Bill had taken my car keys… There was no way to go back there. And when I realized it, I felt even worse than before, and only one thought crossed my mind. _Eric._

-x-

**Eric Northman**

Sookie had left earlier that night, and I had already told Pam and the others about it. And they were almost as sad as I was. In fact, they were so gloomy, that they had decided to stay at the house that night, and not open the bar.

I was in my bedroom, or rather, on its balcony. But I could still hear them downstairs.

"He was so close… I wonder why he let her go," I heard Maxwell Lee's voice. Or rather, his hopeless, sad voice.

"After all this time, he's finally learned to love," Pam answered him.

"That's it, then. That should break the spell," Clancy added.

"But it's not enough. She has to love him in return," Dahlia replied. And she too, had hopelessness and sadness in her voice. And I could understand why. Sookie was way too beautiful and perfect. And not even her tender-heart would make her love a beast like me. My only solace was the fact that she had awaken deep feelings inside me; and that because of her, I now knew what it was to love someone.

"And now it's too late," I heard Clancy say a second later.

"I knew it, I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up," Maxwell Lee said.

"Maybe it would have been better if she had never come at all," Clancy added.

And that was when I heard them all running towards the window, and Pam's voice, "Could it be? Has she come back?" And I immediately felt better. Could it be, indeed?

But then I heard Dahlia's word. "Oh, God. Humans. Invaders."

"Tell the Master," Pam's voice said.

And in just a few minutes, Indira entered my room. "Pardon me, master," she said.

"Leave me in peace," I replied, weakly.

"But sir, the house is under attack!"

"Ohh," I mumbled feebly.

"What shall we do, master?" she insisted.

But I could only, very sadly, reply, "It doesn't matter now. Just let them come." And I really meant it. In only one week, I had completely fallen for Sookie. And I knew that I would never be the same as before, and that without her, there was no reason to live. In fact, I would even be thankful for a final death.

And so, Indira closed the door, and left. And not five minutes later, I started hearing fighting sounds from downstairs. But I still didn't care. I moved towards the balcony again, and I watched the moon, unable to go downstairs, and just wishing to be left alone, missing Sookie.

However, my wish for loneliness wasn't granted. And soon, a tall, dark-haired man entered my room and moved towards the balcony, where I was. And somehow, it was as if the man knew who I was. Or rather, _what_ I was. And how to kill me. Because instead of a knife or a gun, he was caring a crossbow, and took aim at me.

I then looked up at him, but I still couldn't care. Not even for my life. And so I looked back down in sadness again. But that was when the man released a wood-arrow and it struck me in the shoulder. And I could only scream in pain, and wished that he'd shot me in my heart so I'd finally die.

"Hah, hah, hah," the man laughed out loud, while he cornered me on the edge of the roof. But I simply sat there in despair, because I had lost all hope of ever seeing Sookie again.

However, the guy apparently didn't like my un-resistance, and he yelled at me, "Get up! Get up! What's the matter, Beast? Too kind and gentle to fight back?"

I kept looking down, ignoring him, while he walked into the foreground and broke off a piece of the roof. He was about to smash it on my head when something unthinkable happened and Sookie's voice drifted up. She was in the garden, and she yelled to the guy, telling him to stop. "No," she said.

And you know what? Hearing her voice gave me new life, and I whispered her name back, even though I knew that there was no way that she would hear me, "Sookie."

"Bill, don't," she screamed towards the balcony. So, apparently, the man's name was Bill.

But _Bill_ didn't care about what Sookie said, because he then tried to hit me. However, Sookie's presence had made me want to live again, and I caught the weapon in my hand, before I rose up and roared in that man's face. And that was when we proceeded to fight on the rooftop.

I had just shoved that guy to his knees, when he asked, "Were you in love with her, beast? Did you honestly think she'd want you when she had someone like me?" And that made me stop again, and the guy used that moment to shoot another wood-arrow, that hit my stomach. "It's over, beast! Sookie is mine!" he said.

And that was the moment when I decided that that guy had to die. I knew that Sookie would never be mine. I was a monster, after all. But she sure as hell wouldn't belong to that guy either. And so, I picked him up by the neck and I hold him out over the edge of the roof.

But the guy pleaded with me. "Put me down. Put me down. Please, don't hurt me! I'll do anything! Anything," he said.

And in what was undoubtly the most uncharacteristic moment of my existence in the last nine years, since I had been turned a monster, I immediately felt my anger slowly melting off from my face, and a look of compassion returning. I then pulled the man, Bill, back onto the roof.

"Get out," I told him, shoving him to the ground, right before I saw Sookie coming out on a close balcony.

"Eric," she said.

"Sookie," I answered, while I began to climb and reaching towards the balcony where she was. "Sookie? You came back," I added when I was almost next to her.

The most passionate stare happened then, and I could almost feel Sookie's glare inside my unbeating heart. But our moment was immediately interrupted when Bill sneaked up and stabbed me in the back, while I could only roar in pain because I could really feel that the knife was made of silver. And then Bill pulled the knife out and held it back for another shot. But as soon as I started to fall, I knocked him off his balance. And right then, Sookie reached forward and pulled me back, while Bill fell off from that third floor, and hit the floor.

Sookie then helped me onto the balcony, where I laid down on the floor.

"You came back," I repeated.

"Of course I came back. I couldn't let them... Oh this is my entire fault. If only I'd gotten here sooner," she answered.

"Maybe it's better this way," I told her.

"Don't talk like that. You'll be all right. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see."

"At least I got to see you one... last...time," I managed to say while she pulled my hand up to her face. I hoped that she could feel the love that I felt for her. I hold my hand towards Sookie's cheek, and I touched her there for a second, but then I felt my body losing all its strength.

My head fell back, and I closed my eyes.

-x-

**Sookie Stackhouse**

When Bill Compton and all the others left I felt almost desperate until we managed to break a window and leave the house. And after I had explained Eric and everything else to Jason, he told me that Eric had actually allowed Jason to bring his pick-up truck back home when he had released him. I immediately begged him for his car keys, and then I ran, alone, to his car, despite Jason's words that he wanted to go there with me. However, he was still very fragile from what had happened earlier that night, and I had insisted that he should stay there.

I drove as fast as Jason's truck would take me to Eric's. And when I got there, I saw that Bill Compton was about to kill him, and I could only scream a very meaningful "No," before I ran inside. And as soon as I got there, I saw Pam and all the others glamouring all of Bon Temps people that had gone there to kill Eric. But I just didn't care about any of that, and I ran upstairs.

Minutes later, when Eric saw me, he moved towards me, and whispered my name, smiling. And I could only smile back at him. But that was when Bill stabbed him and I really felt that I'd lose Eric. However, I somehow managed to pull him inside, and I even managed to tell him that everything was going to be fine; though I feared that it wouldn't.

"At least I got to see you one... last...time," Eric said while I pulled his hand up to my cheek. Eric then held it there for a second, before his head fell back, and he closed his eyes. I immediately dropped his hand and put my hand to my mouth because I couldn't really believe that I was here, watching Eric die.

"No, no! Please! Please! Please don't leave me," I yelled to Eric's body, while I cried. He was strange, he had fangs, and he was cold to the touch. But I couldn't even imagine the world without him. In just a week, he had become the most important person in my life. He was my friend and he meant everything to me. "I love you," I whispered.

"He's gone," I suddenly heard Pam's voice. I hadn't even noticed that she was there, but she was. Along with Maxwell, Clancy, Indira, Dahlia and Long Shadow.

"The rose," Clancy then added, pointing at the flower that I had seen on my first night at that house. And I too, looked at it and I saw the last petal fall off the rose. They all immediately looked down at the floor, and I dropped my head towards Eric's chest, and continued crying.

I could feel Pam and the others watching me as I sobbed over Eric's body. But I didn't care. I just cared that I had lost my best friend and the only man that had made me feel someone more than a simple waitress from a small town.

But then, something happened, because suddenly, one beam of light shone right next to us, like a shooting star. What was it? Then another came. And another, and another. And finally, I stopped crying for a second. All of a sudden, I felt Pam's hands grabbing me and pulling me away from Eric and those beams of light.

And then something incredible happened, because Eric rose up into the air, magically and began to turn. And, somehow, he was enveloped in a cloud of light. He then roared towards the sky, that was breaking dawn. And suddenly, Eric's fangs disappeared and he fell to the floor, trying to breath. He turned towards me and he was… it was as if his cheeks were rosy. But Eric had always been completely pale.

"Sookie! It's me," he said touching my face.

But he was warm, and Eric's touch had always been cold. So I could only look at him, skeptically, until I saw the blue eyes, and _oh my God!, _I instantly knew that it was the same Eric from before. "It is you," I said.

Eric immediately grabbed me, and twisted me around, before he kissed me. And you know what? Eric kissed me like he had had a thousand years to practice. Yes, it was _that_ perfect. And that was the exact moment when the sun rose, and Pam and all the others immediately started laughing and crying at the same time, while they said how happy they were to be allowed to be out in the sun.

"Pam! Long Shadow! Dahlia! Look at us," Eric said smiling the most beautiful smile I had ever seen.

"Oh my goodness," Indira said.

"It's a miracle," Maxwell added.

"No, it's no miracle," Eric answered, looking at me as if I was the most incredible thing he had ever seen. "It's Sookie, _she_ is the miracle," he said smiling, before he picked me up and swung me around, just like the Prince Charming had done in all the fairytales I had read when I was a child. And right then and there, I was sure that, like the heroines of my childhood and as long as I had Eric, I too, would be happy ever after.

.

.

_Tale as old as time / True as it can be  
>Barely even friends  Then somebody bends / Unexpectedly._

_Just a little change / Small to say the least  
>Both a little scared  Neither one prepared / Beauty and the beast._

_Ever just the same / Ever a surprise  
>Ever as before  Ever just as sure / As the sun will rise_

_Tale as old as time / Tune as old as song  
>Bittersweet and strange  Finding you can change / Learning you were wrong_

_Certain as the sun / Rising in the east_  
><em>Tale as old as time  Song as old as rhyme / Beauty and the beast._

_Tale as old as time / Song as old as rhyme /Beauty and the beast._

_._

_._

**~The End ~**

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* * *

><p><strong>I hope you've enjoyed reading this. And <strong>_**please, please, please**_** review. :) See you next story. Célia**

**"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film, The Lion King, composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. It won the 1994 Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. It also earned Elton John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.**


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